The UK researchers say that tiny algae-like fossils found in
meteorite fragments that landed in Sri Lanka last year can’t have
originated on our planet, according to the study published in the Journal of Science. The fragments
were found after sightings of a fireball in the Sri Lankan province
of Polonnaruwa in December 2012, and were subsequently analyzed by
local scientists.

The initial microscopic observations revealed so-called diatoms
inside the meteorite fragments, which scientists found to be
similar to an ancient and largely extinct type of marine algae.

Cardiff University was asked to proof-check and analyze the
findings, which it did, concluding that the samples were
“unequivocally meteorites” and that the analysis of the
material structure showed algae-like fossils were native to it.

Ruling out “recent terrestrial contamination” was
critical for the research. It has typically destroyed all the
previous hopes of proving the panspermia theory, which says life on
Earth could have arrived in a meteorite.

To support the first-ever evidence of the extraterrestrial life
found in a celestial body, the researchers used sophisticated
methods such as X-ray diffraction, triple oxygen isotope analysis
and scanning electron microscopy.

The results immediately received wide coverage in blogs
and the mass media, and have been interpreted as a long-awaited
proof of that “we’re not alone.”

“Results of X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) analysis, Triple Oxygen
Isotope analysis and Scanning Electron Microscopic (SEM) studies
are presented for stone fragments recovered from the North Central
Province of Sri Lanka following a witnessed fireball event on 29
December 2012. The existence of numerous nitrogen depleted highly
carbonaceous fossilized biological structures fused into the rock
matrix is inconsistent with recent terrestrial contamination.
Oxygen isotope results compare well with those of CI and CI-like
chondrites but are inconsistent with the fulgurite hypothesis,”
Cornell University Library website quotes the study on the
Polonnaruwa meteorite published in the Journal of Cosmology, Volume
22, No.2. March 2013.

But critics have doubted the credibility of such conclusions,
saying that not all the necessary tests have been carried out, and
thus there’s still possibility that the diatoms got inside the rock
on Earth.

Astronomer and author Phil Plait, known for his revelatory
articles on Bad Astronomy blog, even went as far as to suggest the
rock in question might not be a meteorite at all, and cited experts
supporting his point.

“They don’t establish the samples they examined were actually
meteorites. They don’t establish they were from the claimed meteor
event over Sri Lanka in December 2012. And perhaps most telling,
they don’t eliminate the possibility of contamination; that is,
diatoms got into the samples because those rocks were sitting on
the Earth where diatoms are everywhere,” Plait summed up in his
blog post.

What made critics wonder is the fact the researchers did not
consult any independent experts in meteorites or diatoms to confirm
their suggestions and tests results.

The placement of the publication has raised further suspicions,
as the Journal of Cosmology is not held in high esteem in
scientific circles, and has been accused of publishing
“pseudoscience” articles.

Others said, even though it looks like serious research, and
there’s an abundance of technical details in the study, such
“extraordinary claims” still need confirmation from research
groups around the globe before they could be taken
seriously.